


TTTE AU- High School

by ShinyRed



Category: Thomas the Tank Engine & Friends, Thomas the Tank Engine - All Media Types
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, I’ll update tags as i go
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-06
Updated: 2019-11-08
Packaged: 2020-04-11 13:48:41
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 9
Words: 19,732
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19110934
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ShinyRed/pseuds/ShinyRed
Summary: Title pretty much explains it. High School AU.Rating has changed due to the plans I have for the plot direction.  I tried keeping it as clean as I could but as you can see that didn't last very long. There will be no explicit underage sex, any sex will be between adults (18+). There will, however, be some sexual acts involving minors, but they'll only be alluded to, nothing graphic.





	1. Introduction

“Welcome, students, to another year of learning at Sodor High School. I think I can speak for the entire administration and staff when I say, we’re glad to welcome back our returning students. And to our incoming freshman class, we welcome you as well. I hope your experience at this school is one that will shape you and send you off into the world a better and more well rounded person.

”Here at Sodor High School, we prioritize the student experience. Our focus is on making sure each and every one of you reach your potential, and we do everything we can to see it happen. I, along with our guidance counselors Miss Lady and Dean Tenn, are always here to help. Whether you’re a freshman who can’t open their locker, or a Senior who can’t decide what university to attend, your problem are our problems, and we’re going to do everything we can to assist you.”

“God, his speech gets longer every year…” Gordon groaned, slumping further down into his seat.

Henry nodded, pursing his lips in thought. “Maybe he goes for a new record every year.”

“As long as he goes on long enough for me to miss my first two classes again,” James chimed in with a snicker, “I’ll gladly sit through another long speech.”

Gordon laughed, turning his attention back to the man on stage.

“For those of you who don’t know, my name is Sir Topham Hatt, and I’ll be your principal for the next four years, if I’m lucky.” He paused for a chorus of awkward laughs from the students. “I’m sure you are all eager to meet your teachers for this year, and it gives me great pleasure to introduce to you some new members of our staff. Edward Stewart will be teaching various math classes to the upper level students, so be sure to give him a warm welcome.”

A man standing on the side of the stage gave a friendly wave to the crowd.

“Oh he’s cute,” James said playfully.

Henry swatted his arm. “Down, boy.”

Sir Topham Hatt continued, “And to replace our beloved gym teacher, Old Slow Coach, who retired last year, I’m proud to welcome back an alumnus from this very school, who holds several track and cross country records yet to be broken by a student since his graduation... Scot Gresley.”

James’ jaw dropped. “Your brother is the new gym teacher?” he said over the thunderous applause.

“Unfortunately,” Gordon sneered, rolling his eyes. He watched with a scowl as Scot waved at the students, giving an “oh, stop it” gesture, followed by encouraging them for more applause. Gordon scoffed. “Unfortunately for all of us.”

Once the students settled down, Sir Topham Hatt continued once more. “And now, without any further ado, I’ll send you all off to start another year of education. Best of luck to each and every one of you.”

-

James plopped his lunch bag onto the table, sitting down beside Gordon with an annoyed huff. “I already hate my classes.”

“The day isn’t over yet,” Henry said sympathetically, “you still have a few classes left.”

“That makes it worse.”

Stabbing the broccoli on his tray, Gordon grunted in agreement. “My classes sucked too, and I’ve got gym with my brother next to top it all off.”

James winced. “Yikes, good luck with that.”

“Maybe he’ll go easy on you since you’re his brother?” Henry said, giving Gordon a hopeful smile.

Gordon shrugged. “I can only hope.”

-

“See everybody, my brother is very kindly demonstrating how not to do a proper sit up. Don’t be a Gordon, everyone! Make sure to…”

Gordon tuned Scot out with a scoff. So much for going easy on him.

-

“Literally the only good part about today is the fact that seniors get priority parking,” James said as he opened the passenger door to Gordon’s car.

“Yeah, but we’re still screwed on the days it’s your turn to drive us, _Junior_ ,” Gordon teased.

Sticking his tongue out at Gordon, James turned to Henry. “How dare you not have a shitty day like the rest of us. Grossly unfair, if you ask me.”

“I guess I lucked out,” Henry said as he climbed into the backseat, “I like all of my classes.”

“That’s because you’re taking mostly electives.”

“Well, if you had planned out your schedule like I suggested, you wouldn’t be stuck taking two math classes.”

“Ugh, whatever,” James said. “One day down, god knows how many more to go…”


	2. Another Introduction

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry and Gordon have one of their usual chats, but this time things get a little too personal.
> 
> Also, enter Thomas! ...And Diesel.

“Remind me again why we even bother with this when we aren't taking the same classes anymore?”

“Because,” Henry said, adjusting his laptop screen so he could see himself in the camera, “I need someone to talk to while doing homework, and you don’t have anything better to do on Saturday nights.”

Gordon glared at Henry through the screen. “I do things!”

“Not on Saturday nights, you don’t.”

Gordon scoffed. “Well, maybe I’m just being a good friend and not bucking our little tradition.”

“Like I said,” Henry smirked, “you do nothing on Saturday nights.”

Gordon grumbled something under his breath as he opened up a large textbook. Flipping through the pages, he glanced up at his screen to see Henry pulling out a small notebook and a pen. “So, why don’t _you_ ever do anything on Saturday nights?”

“You know how my parents are,” Henry said with an annoyed huff, “they’re fine with me smoking weed in the house, but god forbid I go to a party with my friends. The chance of me getting up to illegal activity apparently skyrockets when I’m away from home... honestly, they’re right.”

Gordon snickered. “Do they realize there’s plenty of PG activities one can do on a Saturday night? Don’t they let you go with friends to the arcade or see a movie?”

Henry shook his head. “Not after dark.”

Gordon had known Henry for years but somehow never realized how hard his parents were on him when it came to his socialization. They seemed so chill whenever Gordon hung out at Henry’s house. He assumed Henry was just a homebody and enjoyed spending his nights in his room by himself. “That’s… very weird.”

Henry shrugged. “It’s fine, I can have friends over and do pretty much whatever I want as long as it’s in the house. One time my mom gave my friends and I an entire bottle of whiskey under the conditions we stay in the house and let her know immediately if one of us felt sick. I think that’s a pretty fair trade.”

“That’s... still very weird,” Gordon laughed. When Henry said nothing else, he tried focusing on his reading, but found his mind wandering back to their conversation. “Scot is pretty much the opposite. His policy is ‘ignorance is bliss.’ I can theoretically do whatever I want as long as he doesn’t catch me, which means I either have to be really sneaky at home or just go somewhere else.”

“That sounds like him,” Henry chuckled, not looking up from his writing. “I can’t picture you getting up to any rascality, though.”

“I’m going to try and ignore the fact that you just used the word ‘rascality’ seriously in a sentence.”

Rolling his eyes, Henry continued. “What could you possibly be doing that would warrant Scot having to act like a parent?”

Gordon chuckled. “I’d say having sex literally two rooms away from Scot’s would count as rascality.”

Henry had to stop himself from dropping his pencil in shock. He knew Gordon was straight, but sexually active? Henry’s stomach sank at the thought. “Are you serious?” he asked with a nervous laugh. “You mean, you’ve actually...? And Scot has no idea?”

Gordon nodded. “I know you’re not into heterosexual shenanigans, so I’ll spare you the gory details-”

“Bless you,” Henry said sarcastically.

“-but let’s just say I had an overnight guest last week who wasn’t exactly quiet, and Scot was none the wiser. I’d never hear the end of it if he found out, but with as many times as I’ve already gotten away with it, I think I’m safe. As long as I’m careful about it, I don’t have to worry.”

 _‘So, he’s done this many times...’_ Henry cleared his throat awkwardly. “Sounds like you’re having a lot of ‘overnight guests.’”

Gordon paused his writing. Henry sounded almost disappointed. Looking up, he saw Henry deep in concentration with his own work, his expression unreadable. “Well, I wouldn’t say a lot… why does it matter?”

Realizing how defensive Gordon was getting, Henry gave him an apologetic look. “No, it doesn’t matter, I was just…” he could feel his face turning red as he spoke. “You’d better be using protection.”

“Oh for the love of- _yes, I’m using protection._ Are we done with sex ed? Is class dismissed?”

A moment of awkward silence passed before Henry nodded in approval. “Good. That’s- that’s good. Very good. I’m proud of you.”

“Good,” Gordon said suspiciously before returning to his work.

As desperate as Henry was to change the subject, he still had some curiosities. “So, um…” he mulled it over for a moment, raising his eyes to the screen. Gordon’s brows were scrunched together in concentration, and Henry wondered if Gordon had even heard him. He decided to keep his mouth shut and go back to writing.

“What is it?”

Henry jumped. Guess Gordon had heard him after all. “Oh,” he stammered, “it was, uh, it was nothing, I just… I was wondering something, but it doesn’t matter now…”

Shutting his textbook, Gordon slid it to the side and turned to the screen, giving Henry his full attention. “Well, I’ve given up on my biology reading, so whatever it was I’m fine with talking about it. Anything else is bound to be better at this point.”

With a small smile, Henry also put aside his work. “Well, this is going to be a dumb question, and the only reason I’m asking is because usually friends talk about this stuff but we haven’t and I feel like we’ve really missed out-”

“What’s the question, Henry?” Gordon’s tone made him sound annoyed, but his amused smile betrayed him.

Henry blushed sheepishly. “Right, um… how old were you when you first- I mean, the first time you, y’know…?”

It took Gordon a moment to put the pieces together. “The first time I had sex?”

Hearing the words come from Gordon’s mouth made Henry’s heart skip a beat. He laughed nervously. “Yeah, that.”

Leaning back in his chair, Gordon put his hands behind his head. “Huh, I guess I’ve never really talked about it with anyone. It was right before I met you and James, and I didn’t really have anyone to talk about it with.”

Henry’s heart sank. “Wow, it was that long ago?”

Gordon nodded. “It was the summer after ninth grade, so not too long ago.”

“What happened?” Henry asked, though he wasn’t sure he wanted to know.

“This feels oddly expositional…”

“Oh, just answer the question you chicken.”

Gordon hummed thoughtfully. “Well, all I remember was hanging out with a large group of people at some girl’s house while her parents were out of town for the weekend, and of course things got a little raunchy. One minute I was playing spin the bottle, next thing I know I’m being pulled into a guest bedroom and a girl I didn’t recognize starting making out with me. You can probably guess the rest.”

Henry could guess, and the mental images made him incredibly uncomfortable for a multitude of reasons.

Gordon continued. “It wasn’t exactly something mind-blowing, it just sort of… happened. I lost my virginity at a high school house party. I’m sure plenty of other people at school could tell the same story about their own first time.”

Henry nodded along as Gordon spoke, but his mind was preoccupied with the mental images being conjured by Gordon’s words. He knew he should be ashamed of himself, but Henry couldn’t help but let his mind wander. He’d be lying if he said he hadn’t thought about Gordon like that before…

“I assume you haven’t done it yet?”

Henry was snapped out of his thoughts by Gordon’s voice. “What makes you say that?”

“Oh please,” Gordon chuckled, “if you’d gotten laid by now we never would have heard the end of it.”

Henry gave a ‘hmph’ and crossed his arms in mock offense. “I’ll have you know I like to keep that aspect of my life private, thank you very much.”

“So, _are_ you a virgin?”

“...Yes.”

“I knew it,” Gordon said smugly.

Henry rolled his eyes. “That doesn’t mean I’m inexperienced, you know.”

Gordon cocked his head in interest. “Oh really?” He leaned forward, clasping his fingers and resting his chin on top of them, a cheeky smile on his face. “Do tell.”

“Nooooo…” Henry groaned and buried his head in his arms. “You don’t want to hear about that stuff anyway.”

“If I had to share my personal sex stories, so do you. It’s only fair.”

Lifting his head up and leaning it against his hand, Henry sighed. “Fine.

“I’ve given my share of handjobs, and a few blowjobs here and there. The first one was sophomore year, behind the bleachers at a football game in exchange for some weed. I had no idea what I was doing but he didn’t seem to care, and I got what I wanted in the end, so it didn’t matter. The other times have pretty much the same story behind them; I’m a pro at negotiating the conditions of deals to save my money.

“I got close to going all the way with my first real boyfriend, but… I couldn’t go through with it. That’s the reason he dumped me. He thought I didn’t like him anymore, but really I was just too nervous.”

Gordon watched Henry sympathetically as he told his story. “So that’s why you didn’t want to talk about it with me and James.”

 _’No, it’s because that’s not the real reason we broke up…’_ “Yeah, that’s it.”

Unsure of what to say, Gordon and Henry sat in silence for a few moments before Gordon spoke. “That’s a stupid reason to break up with someone. If he was willing to drop you just because you weren’t putting out, he wasn’t worth dating in the first place.”

Henry smiled weakly. Gordon’s words were encouraging, but the truth nagged at him in the back of his mind. Henry wanted nothing more than to tell Gordon everything, but he couldn’t risk losing their friendship. How was he supposed to say he couldn’t bring himself to sleep with his boyfriend because he couldn’t stop thinking about Gordon? Henry couldn’t, and he wouldn’t. What Gordon didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him, no sense in making things awkward between them. Besides, Henry would get over this silly crush eventually, right?

At least, that’s what he’d been telling himself for the past two years.

Sensing he had touched a nerve, Gordon decided to change the subject. “Guess I should make an attempt at this reading,” he said, pulling his textbook in front of him.

Henry snapped out of his thoughts. “Yeah, I’ve still got some stuff to finish too…” Reaching over to grab his notebook, he stared at the mindless scribbles littering the page. Henry sometimes wished he’d be assigned more homework so that he didn’t have to keep pretending to be working when he was Skyping Gordon, since he couldn’t bring himself to tell Gordon that he always finished all his homework in study hall. That would make their weekly Skype calls pointless. Sure, they could chat as friends, but it was a lot less nerve wracking for Henry to use the excuse of homework. Even though they weren’t using the calls to help each other, the habit had stuck, so Henry wasn’t as worried about having a solid reason to continue the calls. He assumed Gordon enjoyed them as much as he did, and hoped they wouldn’t be ending any time soon.

“So,” Henry said as he pretended to write something in his notebook, “what are you reading about?”

“‘During aerobic cellular respiration, oxygen gas is consumed at the same rate as carbon dioxide gas is produced.’”

Henry blinked. “Wow, I didn’t know you were taking a foreign language class.”

“Henry, this stuff was covered in basic biology last year.”

“...It was?” Henry laughed to hide his embarrassment. “Well, it sounds foreign to me.”

Gordon rolled his eyes. “Well, this is an Advanced Placement class, I wouldn’t expect you to understand.”

Henry’s smile fell. Comments like this from Gordon were common, but that didn’t make them sting any less. “Ouch…” Henry mumbled under his breath, shifting his focus to his own work.

Gordon sighed. Sometimes he went too far with the things he said, and judging by Henry’s reaction, this was one of those times. He decided to change the subject. “So,” he said hesitantly, “are you dreading the pep rally on Friday as much as I am?”

Henry’s lips quirked into a smile. “Actually, not this time.”

Gordon chuckled under his breath. “What, are you planning on blowing someone under the bleachers for weed?”

It took Henry a moment to process what Gordon had said. When he did, he looked up in shock. “Wow,” he said softly. “Any amount of information is dangerous in your hands.”

Gordon laughed. “Oh come on, I was just joking. I didn’t mean-”

“No, you know what?” Henry said, closing his notebook with an aggravated huff, “I should really go to bed anyway. I’ll see you tomorrow.”

“Henry, wait!” Gordon said, but the call had already ended.

-

Looking around the crowded cafeteria, Thomas groaned. Two weeks into the school year and he still hadn’t managed to find a decent place to sit, not even once. Even getting to lunch early hadn’t helped, it seems everyone had the same idea. However, he was fed up with sitting on the floor of the library, balancing his tray awkwardly in his lap, and was determined to find a good spot, even if it meant squeezing between two sweaty athletes.

Suddenly, Thomas spotted an opening at a table in the corner. He made a brisk beeline over to the table, but just as he was about to set down his tray, someone slinked past him and sat down.

“Oh, come on!” Thomas huffed, glaring at the back of the stranger’s head. He jumped when the stranger turned around to face him, an annoyed expression on his face. “I-I’m sorry, I’ll just-”

“Yeah, you should be sorry,” he said, running a hand through his dark, greased back hair. With a sneer, he turned around

Thomas snorted. “At least I take showers…”

A few snickers sounded from the others at the table. The stranger tensed, before turning around again to glare at Thomas. Standing up to his full height—which wasn’t much taller than Thomas— the stranger stared him down intimidatingly. “I guess nobody told you not to mess with Diesel, huh?”

Thomas felt his knees buckle with nerves. He had heard the name, but only in passing. Stories about the sophomore getting up to all sorts of trouble had earned him a pretty hefty reputation. Thomas hasn’t paid the gossip any attention, too focused on his classwork and impressing his teachers to worry about what someone else was doing. Now, he regretted that decision.

Diesel snickered. “I’ll take that as a no.”

Thomas gasped and nearly dropped his lunch tray as Diesel grabbed him with a fistful of his shirt.

“Drop the freshman.”

Thomas turned toward the source of the voice to see a boy with bright red hair standing a few feet away, giving Diesel a challenging stare. Behind him were two other boys, one of them had his hands in his pockets and a bored scowl on his face, the other was clearly uncomfortable with the confrontation and looked like he would rather be anywhere but here.

Diesel scoffed. “Oh just lay off and mind your business, _James_.”

The worried looking boy spoke up. “He’s not worth it, Diesel.”

Diesel glared at the trio, an annoyed scowl on his face. Without another word, Diesel released Thomas’ shirt and sat down, grumbling to himself.

Everyone instantly went back to their own conversations. Relieved, Thomas brushed off his shirt and was about to sulk to his usual spot in the library when a hand on his arm stopped him. Turning around, he saw the redhead, who he assumed was James, with his two friends still behind him.

“Diesel’s an asshole,” he said with a smirk, “ignore him. Come with us.”

Thomas blinked. “Oh, uh… okay.” He followed the trio, with James confidently leading the way. When they arrived at their table, James shoved a pair of backpacks off of the bench onto the floor, earning identical “Hey!”s from his friends.

“Usually we try to keep other people from sitting with us, but today’s your lucky day…” James trailed off expectantly, prompting Thomas for his name.

“Oh, Thomas.”

“Thomas,” James parroted. “How very.”

With a nervous smile, Thomas hesitantly sat down beside James, the other two sitting on James’ other side. Thomas eyed them, waiting for them to introduce themselves.

The friendly looking one leaned forward. “I’m Henry.”

“Gordon,” the other one grunted.

“Hi,” Thomas said with a smile and a small wave. Henry smiled back. Gordon frowned.

“So,” James said, ripping open a bag of chips, “you _are_ a freshman, right? I just sort of assumed, since that’s who Diesel has been targeting lately.”

“And only a freshman would be stupid enough to mouth off to Diesel like you did,” Gordon chimed in, a smirk tugging at his lips.

Thomas nodded. “Yeah, I am. And what’s his problem anyway?”

James waved a hand dismissively. “Who knows. He’s always been a little shit, causing trouble for anyone unlucky enough to piss him off.” James jerked his head gesturing to Henry. “Diesel and his pals followed Henry around for a whole week last year calling him ‘Old Square Eyes’ and wouldn’t leave him alone until the principal got involved.”

Henry pouted, upset that the story was being bought up again. “I really hated those glasses.”

“Believe me,” Gordon muttered under his breath, “you weren’t the only one.”

As Henry glared at Gordon, James turned back to Thomas. “Anyway, your best bet is to just avoid him. Now that he’s got a taste for tormenting you, he’ll probably want more.”

Thomas paled. “Oh no…”

Gordon rolled his eyes. “Ignore James, he’s being dramatic as usual. Diesel will probably forget about you by next week.”

Thomas didn’t like Gordon’s use of the word ‘probably.’

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m hoping to update more frequently from now on, fingers crossed I can get the update schedule to once a week.


	3. Pressure

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James’ plan is... not successful. Gordon once again feels the pressure from Scot who wants a different path for Gordon than the one he’s currently on. Some advice comes from an unlikely source.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> God I hope there aren’t any major errors, I hate uploading chapters on mobile...

Paying attention in class was never James’ strong suit. Since middle school he had fallen into the habit of barely scraping by in his classes, choosing instead to focus on anything non-academic related. The only classes he had any chance of getting an A in were theater classes, as his teachers all praised him for his outstanding performances. However, when it came time to take the tests that required studying to pass, James put minimal effort into them, preventing his grade from getting any higher than a B+.

James’ other classes went pretty much the same way; minimal effort with minimally passing grades, just enough to get by to graduate. School had turned into an endless cycle of doing the bare minimum so James could focus on the more exciting things in life.

So when he found himself genuinely considering going to one of his teachers for some tutoring, it came as a bit of a shock to himself. James had _never_ seeked out tutoring before, even when a class proved to be too difficult to just coast through. So why now?

James smirked to himself as he watched his teacher write equations on the whiteboard. Mr. Stewart—or Edward, as he insisted students calling him—may have been part of the reason for James changing his mind about tutoring. From the first day of the school year James had been infatuated with the man. By sheer luck he had been placed in two of Edward’s classes. For a total of two and a half hours a day, James had the pleasure of getting to stare at this gorgeous man under the cover of just paying really close attention to whatever he was teaching. On occasion, James even found himself interested in the lessons.

However, much like his other classes, James still couldn’t bring himself to put much effort into actually doing the work it took to make decent grades. Not that he was worried about that. Sure, it would be nice to impress Edward by acing his class, but now this gave him the excuse he needed to spend some… quality time with him.

James second class with Edward came right before lunch, so when the bell rang for class to dismiss, James hatched a plan. He strolled up to Edward’s desk, where he was already busy looking over the homework the class had turned in at the beginning of class, and leaned against it nonchalantly. “So,” James said, “I’m sure you’ve noticed the difficulties I’ve been having with some of these assignments lately.”

Edward looked up, smiling when he saw James. “Actually, yes, and I’m thrilled that you’ve taken the initiative to come to me for help.”

“You wouldn't by any chance offer any, I don’t know… private tutoring sessions?” James said with a playful grin.

Edward, oblivious to James’ intentions, nodded. He opened one of his desk drawers and pulled out a packet of paper. “If you could just sign up for the time that works best for you, I’ll assign you to one of my seniors who volunteered to be tutors for extra credit.”

Realizing his plan had come to a screeching halt, James’ smile fell. “You mean you aren’t the one doing to tutoring?” he said, scrawling his name in one of the available slots.

Edward shook his head. “Goodness, no.”

“Aw, really?” James said, pouting in disappointment, though his eyes still held their playful glint. “I was hoping you’d be the one helping me.”

Edward smiled bashfully. “Why, I certainly am flattered, James. I’m glad to see that you look up to me that much, it makes me feel like I’ve really done my job well. But, I can only juggle so much in my schedule.” Looking down at the sheet, Edward smiled. “Looks like you've signed up for a time that falls under Emily Stirling’s slot. Lucky you! Miss Emily is one of my best students, she knows what she’s doing. You’re going to be in very capable hands with her.”

 _’I’d much rather be in your very capable hands,’_ “Thank you,” James grumbled, turning around and walking out of the classroom with a defeated sigh.

-

Slumping against the brick wall, not caring if it scratched his arms, Gordon sat on the grass and watched as everyone ran laps around the track. Well, most ran, some opted to complete the mile at a leisurely walk, much to the irritation of Scot, who observed the students and occasionally gave words of encouragement to the ones who looked ready to pass out at any moment. Gordon spotted some familiar faces, students he recognized from some of his other classes, and watched as they ran. Looking around, he noticed that no one else was sitting down. That meant that he was the first one finished.

He should be feeling proud, being the first one to finish running a mile. Plenty of kids dreamed of being the first one finished with any gym activity. Still, for some reason Gordon’s pride was overshadowed by a bad feeling-

“So, an eight minute mile? That’s almost as fast as I was senior year.”

God damn it.

Scot laughed as he continued, scribbling something down on his chart. “I knew you had it in you. You’ve got so much potential to be a great athlete, Gordon. I’ve said it once and I’ll say it again, you should have been on the track team. Even cross country would have been perfect for you.”

“Well,” Gordon sneered, “as I’ve said every time you brought it up, no thank you.”

Scot huffed, looking down at where Gordon sat fidgeting with a blade of grass. “Oh come on, you and I both know you would have been a phenomenal athlete.”

Looking up at Scot, Gordon’s brow furrowed. This really wasn’t a conversation he wanted to be having for the umpteenth time this year. “I know I’m a good athlete, but the doesn’t mean I automatically want to follow the same path you did. Just because I’m good at something doesn’t mean I want that to be the focus of my life.”

“Oh please,” Scot scoffed. “What’s the point of being good at something if you don’t focus on it? You’re wasting your talent.”

“And with that, I’m done here.” Pushing himself up, Gordon stood and turned to walk away.

“Hey,” Scot called after Gordon, “where do you think you’re going?”

“Changing out of this stupid uniform,” Gordon shouted over his shoulder. Without looking back, he pushed the heavy gym doors open and stormed inside.

-

A day passed and Gordon and Scot hadn’t spoken since. Things between them always got like this every time Gordon’s decision to not pursue sports was brought up. Not that they were particularly close to begin with.

Gordon found himself busy reading a particularly boring passage from one of his assigned readings when he heard a familiar ringing from his laptop signaling an incoming call. Gordon knew it was time for his and Henry’s usual Skype call, but after what had happened the last time, Gordon assumed Henry wouldn’t want to talk to him again. Outside of school, anyway.

Crossing his room to sit at his desk, Gordon answered the call. Sure enough, it was Henry.

“Sorry I’m a little late, I got caught up with something and I lost track of time.”

Upon further inspection, Gordon noticed something seemed… off. Henry looked tired, but different than the times Gordon had seen him after he had pulled an all-nighter studying for a test. Henry’s eyes looked red and unfocused, like he was struggling to stay awake. “Are you feeling okay?”

Henry blinked. “I feel fine, why?”

Even his voice sounded tired. “You look like shit.” That was… not how Gordon meant for that to come out. It was true, but he didn’t mean to say it.

To Gordon’s surprise, Henry laughed. “Do I? Figures.”

Realization hit Gordon. “You’re high, aren’t you?”

Another laugh. “Well, I was.” Henry nodded his head to emphasize the word ‘was’. “I should be coming down right about now.”

Gordon sighed. He should have known. “And yet you still decided to call me?”

Henry’s face turned sincere. “Of course I did, why wouldn’t I? We’ve been doing this for so long it would be a shame to break the tradition. Besides, it’s no fun being high by yourself.”

“Why didn’t you invite someone over?”

“You don’t want to talk to me, do you?” Henry said, pouting in exaggerated disappointment. At least, Gordon assumed he was exaggerating.

“No, that’s not- I just meant,” Gordon sighed. “I must be far from the most interesting person to talk to, in your state. Wouldn’t you rather have someone on your, ah, intellectual level?” Gordon was joking, of course, but there had been times where Henry had said some pretty insightful statements while under the influence. It made Gordon wonder if there was more to Henry than he let on. It fascinated him, if he was honest.

“Nah,” Henry said, laying his head down on his arms with a heavy sigh. “You’re always interesting to talk to. So go on, tell me something interesting.”

“Fifty percent of shoes are left-footed.”

Henry giggled. “I’m serious, let’s get real deep, I want to have some kind of crisis tonight. There’s gotta be something to talk about that will fuck us both up and make us question our existence.”

Gordon thought for a moment. His smile faded as an idea came into his mind. He and Henry had never shied away from talking about personal problems before, but it had never reached beyond stuff like bad grades and family squabbles. Did he really want to bring up anything more serious than that?

“Let's start with whatever’s bugging you.”

Gordon snapped out of his thoughts. “What?”

Henry sat up, propping his head up with his hand. “There’s something going on with you, I can tell. Tell Doctor Stainer all about your problems.”

Hesitantly, Gordon shifted to get comfortable and began to speak. “Well, to be honest, I think this stuff with Scot regarding my decision not to be an athlete is starting to get to me. I’ve always been so sure I didn’t want to go down that route, since I’d just be living in his shadow for who knows how long. But now when he brings it up I… I think I’m starting to regret that decision. I mean, what else am I going to do? I haven’t even decided on what to major in when I go to university, I don’t have any real talents or interests besides sports. I don’t have a clue what else I’m good at. What if there’s nothing else I’m good at?

“As much as I hate to admit it, Scot’s kind of right. What’s the point of having a talent for sports if I’m not using it?” Gordon hates every word he said. But, if he were honest, he was beginning to believe all the things Scot had said about Gordon wasting his talent.

A few moments of silence passed before Henry spoke. “Bullshit.”

Gordon blinked. “Pardon?”

Leaning forward, Henry stared at Gordon very seriously through the screen. “I said that’s bullshit. You’ve got so many talents you don’t even recognize because you think a talent is just a flashy skill you can market and capitalize on, like juggling or singing. A talent is just something someone has a knack for. Obviously you have a talent for sports, but you also have a talent for being confident, honest, and one of the most dependable people I know. Maybe you can’t use those traits to win the school talent show, but you can use them to be successful for the rest of your life.”

As he expected, Gordon was blown away with the depth of Henry’s words. He smiled, appreciating the encouragement.

Henry continued. “And another thing, Scot’s wrong about you wasting your talent. Talent isn’t something that can be wasted, he’s just bitter that you’re not doing what he wants you to do, so he’s trying to guilt you into complying.”

Somehow, Gordon had never thought of it that way. He certainly wouldn’t put it past Scot to try something so manipulative, especially when he believed he was in the right. Scot always did have trouble understanding that he was still only Gordon’s older brother, not his father. His authority only went so far. And even if he was Gordon’s father, he had no right to try and steer Gordon in the direction he deemed the only rational choice.

Though he now had a lot clouding his mind, Gordon managed a grateful smile. “Thanks, that certainly clears up a lot. Doesn’t make me feel any better, but it still helps.”

“Well, I think I can prescribe something that can make you feel better.”

“Is it weed-”

“It’s weed.”

“Oh, for Christ’s sake…”

“Hey,” Henry giggled, “I’m going to get you high one day. I won’t rest until you’ve done it at least once, and only the power of god can stop me”

Gordon rolled his eyes.

“Okay, but in all seriousness,” Henry said, a small smile forming on his face. “Stop letting Scot get to you. And don’t you dare,” Henry pointed a finger for emphasis, “think you don’t have any other talents besides sports ever again.”

Gordon laughed, leaning back in his chair and looking down at his lap in thought. “I promise to try.” He was only half joking. It was hard not to feel so inferior when all he ever saw growing up was how successful and famous Scot had become, being pushed to follow in his footsteps from a young age. Gordon felt as if he were breaking some kind of rule by not getting involved with sports beyond what was required for gym.

Looking back up to the screen, he saw Henry with his head still propped up on his hand, staring somewhere off to the side, expression blank. Gordon chuckled. For someone who just gave him such profound advice, Henry sure did bounce back quickly to being a bit of an airhead. “What are you thinking about?”

“Do you ever wonder how much clouds weigh?”


	4. Cross My Heart

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> James gets detention for the first time in his life, but somehow it’s more of a reward than a punishment. Thomas discusses a taboo subject with his new friends, and discovers something about himself.

“Late, Mr. Hughes.”

James stood in the doorway, catching his breath from sprinting through the halls. “But my locker wouldn’t open and then I thought I lost my-”

Edward stopped writing on the whiteboard to address James directly. “You’re late. You know the rules, James. You’ll be spending this afternoon with me in detention.”

James’ stomach sank. This wasn’t right, he couldn’t have detention. Sure, he was no stranger to acting out a bit in class and getting reprimanded, but detention?

“Is there a problem, Mr. Hughes?”

James’ face flushed red in embarrassment. “No sir,” he said as he stalked over to his desk and sat down with a huff. Holding his head up with one hand, he stared at the whiteboard blankly until a thought popped into his mind.

He was going to be spending the afternoon with Edward.

A grin slowly spread across James’ face. Maybe detention wasn’t going to be so bad after all.

-

“You look happy,” Gordon said, eyeing James suspiciously.

“Oh, I am happy.” James sat down, opening his lunchbox with a satisfied smirk on his face. “Never been happier to get a detention.”

Henry nudged Gordon on the arm. “You do know what class he has before this, right?”

Gordon gave Henry a confused look. “No, what- oh…” Realizing What Henry was referring to, Gordon wrinkled his nose in disgust. “Gross.”

“Hey,” James snapped, pointing his carrot stick threateningly at Gordon, “I don’t want your sass. Edward is a beautiful man and you will not shame me for enjoying his class.”

“I think you mean enjoying his _ass_ ,” Henry said under his breath, earning an amused snort from Gordon.

“Maybe,” James smirked.

“I stand by my previous statement,” Gordon said. “That’s gross. Not to mention illegal and highly immoral.”

“Only for the teacher.”

“Again, gross. Having a thing for a teacher is weird.”

“I don’t think it’s that weird,” a new voice next to James chimed in.

“Woah, Jesus!” James yelped. Looking over his shoulder, he saw Thomas setting down his tray. “Well, hello again. What brings you back here?”

“Everywhere else is full…” Thomas raised a brow. “Am I not allowed to sit here anymore? Was your offer good for one time only?”

“Of course not,” Henry chimed in, motioning toward the spot beside James. “You’re welcome to sit with us whenever you like.”

Thomas sat down with a smile as Gordon grumbled something about “fraternizing with freshmen” under his breath, earning a stern nudge from Henry.

“So,” James said, looking at Thomas inquisitively, “you don’t think it’s weird to have a thing for a teacher, huh?”

Thomas shook his head.

“So who is it?”

Thomas blinked. “What?”

Exchanging amused glances with Henry and Gordon, James leaned towards Thomas. “Which teacher do you think dirty things about?”

“Oh, I don’t- there’s no one, I-I just,” Thomas babbled, flustered by the question. “I just think it’s natural for someone to have little crushes on someone who’s older, that’s all.”

Not buying the lie, James gave Thomas a knowing look. Henry and Gordon also looked at Thomas suspiciously, silently agreeing with James. Suddenly put on the spot, Thomas nervously turned back to his lunch, not saying another word.

“Still,” Gordon said after a lengthy pause, “that doesn’t make James’ boner for his teacher okay. It’s weird, it’s creepy, and it’s wrong on so many levels.”

James waved a hand dismissively. “Yeah yeah, you’re just in denial. There’s gotta be one teacher you’d bang if you had the chance. Everyone has that teacher they’d at least want to make out with, just to know what it would be like.”

“James, this conversation is absolutely _disgusting_ -”

“Well,” Henry said thoughtfully, “when he puts it that way…”

Gordon whipped his head around and gave Henry a look of disbelief. “Not you too!”

Thomas laughed as Henry simply shrugged, causing Gordon to go off on a rant about ethics and the state of society’s sense of morality these days. Thomas ate his lunch as he enjoyed the show. He made a mental note to sit at this table more often.

-

Later on, Thomas couldn’t stop thinking back to the conversation the trio had during lunch. James and the others had every right to be suspicious of Thomas’ claim that he didn’t have a crush on a teacher, especially considering he very much had a massive crush on his gym teacher. From the first time he saw Scot on the first day of school his heart had skipped _several_ beats, which wouldn’t have worried Thomas if this hadn’t been the first time he felt this way about a guy. He’d had his fair share of crushes on girls, but never had he found a man so attractive before. This was a very new development for Thomas, and he knew he should find someone to talk to about it. The problem was finding someone who would listen and not react poorly. It was one thing to be attracted to a guy, it was another to be attracted to a teacher.

Still, Thomas thought to himself, at least he knew that James would support him. Henry was iffy. Gordon… was a hard no. He had made his stance on teacher crushes very clear.

With a strained grunt, Thomas finished the last of his sit-ups. Glancing over to Scot, he was disappointed to find his attention focused on another student.

Darn it.

-

James sauntered into the classroom with more confidence than appropriate for someone who was walking into a detention. His smile brightened when he saw Edward sitting at his desk waiting for him. “So, what’s the assignment?” James asked as he dropped his backpack onto a desk and took a seat. “Writing ‘I will not be late to class again’ one hundred times?”

“No,” Edward said, his tone serious but friendly, “all you have to do it sit here and think about what you’re plan is to not be late again. Now, I know you’re probably not going to do that, I was a teenager not too long ago, so realistically, your punishment is having to stay at that desk for the next hour doing nothing.”

“Not too long ago, you say?” James raised a brow inquisitively, folding his hands behind his head and leaning back in his chair. “How long ago are we talking?”

Edward laughed. “Oh, I don’t think-”

“I know, I know. It’s not polite to ask a lady her age, where are my manners?”

Edward tensed, his smile vanishing. Clearing his throat awkwardly, he quickly busied himself with organizing some papers on his desk.

James noticed Edward’s sudden change in demeanor and was puzzled. Was it something he said? “So, did you go to Sodor High School too, or are you not from around here?”

“Yes, I attended this school too, quite a few years ago,” Edward said, noticeably less tense than he was just moments before. “Sir Topham Hatt invited me to come back and teach because he remembered me from my time here and thought I would do well. I like to think he was right, I’m proud to be part of a staff that genuinely cares about their students.”

James smiled. He loved hearing Edward talk about his job so fondly. It came up often in class, and he never shied away from telling students how happy he was to be teaching them. James found it adorable. “You’re a great teacher, I’m glad I’ve got two of your classes.”

“And I’m happy to have you in my classes,” Edward said with a smile. “You’re definitely one of my brightest students. I’ve seen how quickly you can learn concepts. I bet if you just put a little more effort into your work, you could be the top of the class.”

James was taken aback. He’d never heard so much encouragement from any of his teachers before. Hearing it from Edward made it twice as nice. “Really?”

“Absolutely.”

“Well,” James smirked, “I’ve got the best teacher to thank for that.” It felt weird flirting with Edward now that he had received such kind words. James knew Edward only saw him as his student and cared for him just as any good teacher would, but he could still dream. And flirt.

“I can only do so much. It takes a great mind to do what you’ve shown me you can do, and you've certainly-” Edward stopped suddenly, looking away with a bashful smile. “You know, I’m really not supposed to be talking to you during your detention. This is supposed to be a punishment, after all.”

“I won’t tell anyone,” James said, holding his hand up in an innocent gesture. “Cross my heart.”


	5. So Now The Truth Comes Out

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Excitement for the Homecoming dance builds, but not everyone is feeling the spirit. Thomas learns even more about his new friends, and his suspicions arise. A wild accusation is made that couldn't be more wrong.

The school was buzzing with excitement for the homecoming dance. With only two weeks to go, students were frantically trying to find dates, figure out what they would wear, purchase tickets… classes were the last thing on anyone’s mind.

Except for James.

Ever since his detention with Edward, James had taken his words to heart. Maybe he should be putting more effort into his work. James had never really cared about college, he wasn’t even sure if he wanted to go. Though, if James were honest, college wasn’t the first reason he was thinking about working harder. James wasn’t about to give up his pursuit of Edward. If getting better grades in his classes was what it took to impress Edward and get his attention, then so be it.

James still had that tutoring session coming up, which would be a good opportunity to work on some of the material he wasn’t so confident about. He just wished this could have been a chance to spend some one-on-one time with Edward. Oh well, James thought, that would come soon enough.

-

“So, do you guys have any plans for homecoming?” Thomas asked eagerly. The annoyed snort from Gordon and James’ eye roll gave Thomas a pretty good idea of what their answers were going to be.

“I’m going, but I doubt I’m going to have a good time,” James sneered. “Last year was such a drag, I doubt this year will be any better.”

“Someone’s just bitter because they couldn’t find a date,” Gordon muttered under his breath.

“Hey,” James snapped, “I could have gotten a date if I wanted to, I just have very high standards.”

Gordon raised his eyebrows. “Oh, is that why you were allegedly found crying in the bathroom not even an hour after the dance started? Because your standards were just too high to find someone to go with?”

Embarrassed, James grumbled and stabbed at his broccoli. “At least I wasn’t stuck with Caitlin all night.”

“Oh god, don’t remind me,” Gordon groaned, rubbing his temple. “I swear, she wouldn’t shut up the entire time we were at that dance. I spent more time sitting at a table forced to listen to her talk than actually dancing. I would have rather been dateless.”

Henry giggled at the memory. “Didn’t you try sneaking away at one point?”

Gordon nodded. “Unsuccessfully.”

“So what’s homecoming like?” Thomas asked curiously, directing his question to Henry more so than the other two. He wasn’t expecting any positive stories from James and Gordon.

“Well,” Henry said thoughtfully, “it’s pretty much like what you see in movies. The gym gets decorated, there’s a DJ, everyone crowds in the middle of the room in a sweaty crowd of hyper teenagers dancing like idiots… it’s a lot of fun.” Hearing grumbling from James and Gordon, Henry laughed. “For most people, anyway.”

“What about you?” Thomas asked. “How was homecoming for you last year?”

Henry smiled as he reminisced. “Not as lame as these two, but it wasn’t exactly eventful. I went alone but ended up meeting with some other friends when I got there and we stuck together all night.”

“How about freshman year? Do freshmen usually have fun at their first homecoming or should I look forward to the one next year?”

Henry fell silent. Gordon and James exchanged a glance, signaling to Thomas that he had said something wrong. “I’m sorry, did something happen…?”

“I got into an accident my freshman year,” Henry said matter-of-factly. “I was still in the hospital going through physical therapy when homecoming happened, and I missed it. I missed a lot my first year…” Henry trailed off sadly.

Oh. Thomas immediately felt guilty for bringing it up. Judging by everyone’s reaction, it was definitely a sore subject. “I’m so sorry, I didn’t mean to-”

“It’s okay,” Henry said. He had a smile on his face, but Thomas could tell the topic struck a nerve. “It’s not something I should avoid talking about, and you didn’t know. It’s fine, really.”

“If it makes you feel any better,” James cut in, “you didn’t miss much. The most exciting thing that happened all night was when some senior named Scruffy got beat up outside of the gym when the dance was over. No one knows what he did, apparently he was just really annoying and people got sick of him.”

“Oh my,” Thomas said timidly. He immediately thought of Diesel and his posse. Surely they thought Thomas was annoying…

Gordon rolled his eyes. “Dances aren’t usually so violent. You have nothing to worry about.”

“Yeah,” James agreed, “mostly it’s just kids letting loose and going wild while terrible pop music from over a decade ago blares through the gym and everyone forgets about all the homework that’s due Monday morning. You’re going to have a blast.”

Thomas grinned. Homecoming sounded like it was going to be fun.

“So who is everyone thinking of asking?” James said with a smirk. The only response he received was a grunt from Gordon and a shrug from Henry. James rolled his eyes. “Oh come on guys, it’s your last homecoming and you couldn’t care less?”

“Pretty much,” Gordon deadpanned.

Henry lowered his gaze sheepishly. “I just don’t know who to bring…” Thomas noticed Henry’s cheeks tinge a light pink.

“Oh please," James rolled his eyes, "with your ass? You could ask any guy you wanted. I bet there’s a flock of guys dying for you to ask them.”

Henry’s cheeks were definitely pink now. "Stop that," he said, though the way his lips twitched into a slight smile betrayed him.

“I’m serious,” James continued. “I've heard people talking about how cute you are. You’ve got that sort of innocent but startled deer look going for you. Like Bambi, but like, _right_ after his mom got shot.”

Henry’s smile fell. He glared at James as Gordon and Thomas struggled in vain to suppress their laughter. “Gee, thanks.”

“My point is,” James said, ignoring the other two, “you should get a date this year. I know you could. You’re letting your cuteness go to waste, you need to find yourself a fella.”

“Oh, god. No.”

“A hunk, a hottie…”

“James, _please_ -”

“A big dish of lovin’ with a spoon made just for you.”

“James,” Henry hissed through his teeth, desperately hoping people at surrounding tables hadn’t heard any of what was just said. “Maybe I don’t want a dish of… whatever you just said.”

Gordon, still giggling to himself, gave Henry a sympathetic nudge. “Come on, James is right. We’ve both known you long enough to see how much of a hopeless romantic you are, why don’t you actually go out and find some romance?”

“But I-” Henry started to say before Gordon cut him off.

“And you can’t use being gay as an excuse. There’s practically twice as many gay guys than straight guys at this school.”

Thomas couldn’t help but observe Henry’s reaction, noticing the way his face once again turned pink when Gordon’s arm brushed against his, as well as when their eyes met. James seemed oblivious to it. Thomas stored the information away in his mind to bring up later.

-

As worried as Thomas was about who he was going to ask to homecoming, he was more worried about how quickly he was falling for the gym teacher. The other day when Scot joined in on the “shirts vs. skins” boys basketball game, Thomas nearly fainted when Scot announced he was joining the “skins” team. He had to look away when Scot removed his shirt, hoping nobody noticed how painfully red his face must have been.

Saturday morning, Thomas was ecstatic when James invited him to hang out at the mall along with Henry and Gordon. He desperately needed someone to talk to about his little problem, and even though Gordon would likely react negatively, Thomas would at least have Henry and James for support. Maybe they could knock some sense into him.

Or, better yet, maybe they could encourage him. Encourage him to do what, he wasn’t sure, but part of him didn’t want to be told what he was feeling was wrong. He knew it was wrong, but he just couldn’t help himself.

-

“I can’t believe you spent so much money on _soap_ ,” Gordon said as the group sat down at one of the food court tables.

Henry grinned, pulling a small green bottle out of one of his bags. “What can I say? I’m always a slut for the ‘summer forest’ scent.”

Gordon snorted. “I guessed as much when you bought three bottles of body wash.”

“Oh, leave me alone,” Henry pouted, “James spent twice as much on a pair of jeans and you’re not making fun of him.”

James pulled the aforementioned jeans out of their bag triumphantly, holding them up to admire them. “You’re damn right I did,” he grinned, “and they’re going to look killer with my favorite red shirt.”

“Trying to get Mr. Stewart to notice you?” Henry said, taking a long sip of his iced tea and giving Gordon a sly glance. Groaning, Gordon rolled his eyes. The two looked over to James, who simply smirked.

“As if Edward hasn’t already noticed me. How could he resist this splendid figure?” To emphasize, James gestured suggestively up and down his body.

Gordon choked on his slushie. “Dear lord…”

“Why are teacher crushes so weird to you?” Thomas asked, fully prepared for the speech he was likely to get in response. He figured this was a good time to segway into the conversation he was hoping to have -- with everyone except Gordon of course.

Gordon gave him a stern frown. “The fact that they’re creepy and not to mention illegal isn’t enough to bother you, it seems. Well, you two may not be affected by such disgusting concepts,” Gordon sneered, pointing between Thomas and James, “but I have morals, and I’d kindly appreciate it if you two would cut it out.

James side-eyed Thomas. “I still say he’s in denial.”

Gordon sputtered. “I am not!”

“You’re telling me that not even once in your life have you ever found a teacher attractive?”

“No one in their right mind has fantasies about an adult who is more than twice their age!”

“I have,” Thomas said before he realized his mistake. Gordon’s eyes were instantly on him, as were James’. Gordon’s face was still twisted in disgust and shock, but James’ split into a devilish grin.

“Well well,” James chuckled, leaning in and putting an arm around Thomas, “so you lied the other day when I asked you about this?”

Thomas’ face flushed bright red. “...Maybe.”

James’ grin widened. “Spill. Who is it?”

Gordon rolled his eyes. “Please, don’t indulge him.”

Thomas couldn’t help the smile that spread across his face. “Well,” he said, sitting up straight and trying not to appear too excited, “I’ve never really had a crush on a teacher before, but there is one this year who I think is kind of cute. My gym teacher.”

Silence fell over the table. The worried looks Thomas received from Henry and James coupled with the twitch of Gordon’s eyebrow made him instantly regret bringing up the subject. Thomas shot James a glare. “You of all people have no right to act so scandalized by this-”

“So, uh… who’s your gym teacher?” Henry asked hesitantly.

“You know damn well the school only has one gym teacher,” Gordon barked at Henry before turning to Thomas. “Are you serious? Out of the entire school staff you have a thing for _Scot_? Unbelievable…”

“Oh,” Thomas said as realization hit him, “is Scot the teacher you have a thing for but are in denial about?”

Gordon’s face paled. Henry snorted. He covered his mouth in an attempt to keep quiet, but when James choked on his drink the two erupted into a fit of laughter. Gordon directed his unamused glare at the two. “So this is funny to you, is it? Oh yes, laugh it up, that’s it. Simpletons…”

Thomas was confused. Looking at James and Henry, who were still doubled over and wheezing with laughter, he gestured to them in a silent plea to fill him in on what he was missing.

“Scot is Gordon’s brother,” Henry said, still giggling. “Did you really not know?”

Embarrassed, Thomas shook his head as James laughed harder.

“Was the last name not enough to tip you off?” James said once he regained some of his composure. “That should have been the biggest clue.”

“And they’ve both got the same eyes, too,” Henry chimed in.

“Seriously, the last name should have been more than enough.”

“Plus, they have sort of a Liam and Chris Hemsworth thing going on-”

Slamming his hand to the table, Gordon eyed the two in aggravation. “He gets the point.”

James and Henry exchanged amused glances, their giggles dying down but still bubbling in their throats.

Gordon turned to Thomas. “Regardless of how I feel about the thought of someone thinking dirty things about my own brother, need I remind you that you are fourteen, and he is twenty-eight. Maybe James lacks the shame and self control to not pursue much older men, but at least he’s almost eighteen.”

Thomas pouted. “He’s still a minor-”

“And furthermore,” Gordon said, ignoring Thomas, “I know my brother, and he’s a sucker for any attention he gets. I hope to god that he wouldn’t be stupid enough to mess around with a teenager, but there have been many times he has proven to me that his judgement is… not great.”

“So what you’re saying is,” James grinned devilishly, “there’s hope for Thomas.”

Thomas frantically shook his head. “Oh, no no, I’m not trying to- I, uh, I don’t want to actually-”

“Good,” Gordon said, glaring at Thomas, “stay away from him. For your own good, and for his.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some Henry roasting lines that didn't make the cut:
> 
> "You have the depressing innocence of a child who just found out Santa isn't real."
> 
> "You've got a Kim Kardashian ass with a baby North West face."


	6. Tulips, Tutors, and Emily Sterling

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Henry is surprised by a familiar face at his locker. Following Gordon’s advice, Thomas keeps his distance from Scot, but he starts to have second thoughts. James meets someone new, and there’s something about them that James can’t quite put his finger on...

As homecoming crept closer and closer, Henry’s enthusiasm faded. Several times he thought about finding someone to go with, but he couldn’t imagine himself going with anyone except… Well, he couldn’t really see himself going to homecoming at all, really. He could find something better to do that night.

Shutting his locker door, Henry was surprised to see someone waiting behind it. “Oh,” he gasped.

The stranger smiled. He had kind eyes, Henry noticed. “Didn’t mean to startle you,” he said.

“You didn’t startle me,” Henry lied, “I just don’t usually have people hiding behind my locker door.”

“I-I wasn’t hiding, I swear, I was only-”

“Relax, I’m just kidding,” Henry laughed, pulling his bag over his shoulder and walking towards his next class. “You’re Andrew Nguyen, right? Third period World History II with Mrs. Durel?”

“You know my name?” Andrew said, clearly surprised. “How?”

“...The teacher calls attendance at the beginning of every class.”

Flustered, Andrew pulled at his shirt collar as he walked. “Well, yes, that would explain-”

“I don’t mean to be rude,” Henry said, stopping when they reached the end of the hallway and gesturing towards the classroom door, “but this is my next class. Is there anything I can help you with?”

“Actually, I wanted to give this to you.” Bringing his hands out from behind his back, Andrew presented Henry with a small box and a yellow tulip, a matching yellow ribbon tying them together in an attempt at a bow. “I hope you like chocolate, I probably should have confirmed that before getting this for you…” Andrew trailed off.

Admiring it closely, Henry smiled at the gesture. It was sweet, something Henry hadn’t experienced in a while. “Oh, wow, this is beautiful.”

Andrew grinned. “Thanks!”

“...What’s the occasion?”

Andrew stared blankly for a second before his face lit up. “Oh, yeah. Do you want to go to homecoming with me?”

In hindsight, Henry should have seen this coming. Still, it took him by surprise. “Wait, really?”

Andrew nodded. “Yeah,” he said, a goofy grin on his face.

“But…” Henry was almost too surprised to speak. “We’ve never even talked to each other before.”

Andrew put his hands in his pockets sheepishly. “I know, but I’ve seen you around. I’ve watched you.”

Henry raised a brow suspiciously.

Realizing his mistake, Andrew held up his hands defensively. “N-not in a creepy ‘I’m watching you’ kind of way, I’ve just… noticed you. In class, in the hallways…”

Feeling less suspicious, Henry smiled. “Noticed me?”

Andrew nodded. “You seem smart, you always have the right answer when the teacher calls on you, even if you look like you’re about to pass out when she does. Plus you’re… cute…”

Flustered, Henry could feel his face beating up, certain it was quickly turning a very bright red. Nobody had ever told him he was cute before. Not genuinely, anyway.

“Like you said, we’ve never really talked before, but… maybe we could change that?” Andrew smiled shyly, shrugging his shoulders. “We could talk at homecoming. Seems like a pretty good way to get to know each other if you ask me.”

Henry couldn’t help but laugh. No one had been so sweet to him, and it made Henry’s chest flutter with excitement. “Sure,” he said, “I don’t see why not.”

The look on Andrew’s face told Henry he wasn’t expecting a yes. “Really? That’s- that’s great! I’ll, uh, I’ll text you later!” Andrew stammered as he practically scurried away.

“Andrew, wait!”

With a grin, Andrew turned around. “Yeah?”

Henry giggled. “Don’t you need my number?”

Andrew’s face flushed bright red. “Oh. Right, I probably do need that…” He slumped back over to Henry defeatedly.

Laughing, Henry pulled out a pen and gestured for Andrew to hold out his hand.

-

Thomas begrudgingly followed Gordon’s words of caution, keeping his distance from Scot. He couldn’t see why Gordon had been so paranoid, though; Scot was professional, bonding with students while still holding a presence of authority and keeping his students in line. Everyone respected him. Thomas hadn’t seen Scot give anything more than friendly high-fives to any of his students. No signs of flirting or inappropriate behavior had occurred at all. If any teacher at this school were the bad apple of the bunch, Thomas would put Scot very far down on the list of suspects.

-

James hated the library. Every time he came in here it was to sit at a boring table and work on boring assignments for a boring class. Now he was here to study boring material for a boring class (sorry Edward) with what he guessed would be a boring student. What kind of a name was “Emily” anyway? A boring name, that’s what. Much too common for James’ taste. Every other kid was named Emily, like their parents didn’t care that they were naming their child the same name as every other baby in that hospital wing. Honestly.

...No comment on his own name, of course.

James lifted his head when he saw someone approaching, suppressing his groan. He couldn’t believe he was going to be stuck here with a _boring_ -

“Are you James?” Emily asked, her lips splitting into a sweet and friendly smile.

James nodded. He remembered Edward saying that his tutors were all seniors, but this girl didn’t look older than fifteen. She did have a bit of a babyface, maybe that was what aged her down a few years.

“Good,” she said as she sat next to James. She laughed, “I was afraid I would walk up to the wrong person. God, how awkward would that be?”

At least she seemed fun to be around, James thought gratefully. There was something about her, a vibe she gave off, that made James feel an instant connection with her. Leaning back and folding his arms behind his head, James smirked. “Very awkward.”

-

Homecoming inched closer, and the school buzzed with anticipation and students scrambling to find dates in time. James was one of the first to have a date, somehow talking a senior into going with him. The phrase “gay icons” was used multiple times, which seemed to persuade him into accepting James’ offer. Taking a peek at the list of chaperones, James was pleased to see Edward’s name. He hoped his date would forgive him if he decided to disappear for a while.

Thomas set his sights on a girl he had befriended on the first day of class. She was smart and funny, and always helped Thomas whenever he was stuck. Art wasn’t exactly his strong suit. It wasn’t hers either, but she still understood more than he did. Thomas was surprised when she said yes, he assumed she would already have a date since she was a sophomore but he figured it couldn’t hurt to try. It would seem that luck was on his side. He couldn’t wait to tell the others.

Gordon showed no enthusiasm for this dance whatsoever, so no one was surprised when homecoming week came and Gordon was still dateless. He wasn’t concerned about it, however, as he claimed he had better things to do that night and was only joining his friends out of the goodness of his heart (and because they annoyed him into giving in).

Henry was itching to tell the others about his own date, but for whatever reason, he couldn’t get the words to come out. He couldn’t bring himself to say it in front of Gordon. Henry wanted to slam head first into a wall; why couldn’t he get over this stupid, juvenile crush? He’s known for a long time now that Gordon would never feel the same way, so why couldn’t Henry just turn it off or something? In the end, he kept the news of his date to himself. They’d find out when he showed up to the dance with someone, so he could deal with that bridge when it came time to cross it.


	7. Red Light On Homecoming Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gordon contemplates whether or not to go to homecoming, but quickly makes up his mind after an unpleasant conversation. An unexpected guest visits Gordon. Thomas has some suspicions about James and Emily.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Reuploaded because I didn’t realize this chapter wasn’t finished when I uploaded it the first time, whoopsie doodle.

Gordon didn’t have the energy to walk down the hallway to his bedroom, so he dropped his backpack on the floor by the front door and faceplanted on the couch. He could hear Scot tinkering around in the kitchen, which surprised him. Usually on weekdays Scot liked to order food, since he hated cooking and the cleaning that came with it. Gordon always offered to do it, but Scot insisted he play the parental role.

“Back already?” Scot called out.

“The meeting wasn’t long today,” Gordon said, turning his head so his voice wasn’t muffled by the cushion. “People were begging to leave early so they could go to their hair appointments or pick up their tuxes.”

Scot emerged from the kitchen, giving Gordon a knowing look. “That’s right, homecoming is tonight, isn’t it?”

Gordon nodded. He wasn’t exactly enthused about it.

“Are you going?”

Gordon shook his head. Again, not enthused.

“Why not? It’s your last homecoming, you might regret not going.”

Gordon scoffed, sitting up and running a hand through his hair. “I doubt I’ll regret missing out on something I’ve never enjoyed.”

“Oh, come on,” Scot said, crossing over to sit on the couch beside Gordon, “Caitlin wasn’t that bad-”

“It wasn’t just Caitlin,” Gordon rolled his eyes, “it was the dance itself. The only part I actually enjoyed was hanging out with my friends, and I can do that anywhere, anytime. I don’t need to a stupid dance to do that.”

Scot bit his lip as he thought. “I think you’re making a mistake, missing out on this.”

Gordon tensed. Scot’s voice was starting to get into “lecture” territory, and Gordon was _not_ in the mood.

Scot continued, “Why don’t you just go, worst case scenario you’re bored and leave early.”

“Because I don’t want to go,” Gordon snapped. “Why can’t you ever let me make decisions you don’t agree with? You always swoop in and try to force me to do things your way.”

Scot’s eyebrows raised slightly. “I just thought-”

“I know you thought, god forbid you have a thought about my life you keep to yourself.” Gordon stood and grabbed his backpack from the floor, angrily slinging it over his shoulder, “I don’t want to hear any more. You’ve said enough.” Without looking back, he stormed into his room and slammed the door behind him.

-

Henry’s room was littered with clothes, various shirts and jackets strewn about haphazardly. Holding up a white dress shirt, Henry wrinkled his nose and tossed it aside. Glancing over to the suspenders draped across the beanbag in the corner of the room, Henry sighed and picked up his phone, dialing frantically.

_”Hello?”_

“Emergency, Gordon.”

_”Did your incense burner finally set your house on fire? I told you those things were dangerous.”_

Henry rolled his eyes. “Hah hah. So what are you wearing? I know we were all going to match and wear suspenders, but let’s be honest, James is probably going to change his entire outfit at the last minute depending on what his date wears. I’m having second thoughts about the suspenders, though, I think I look kind of stupid in them. If you wear them I’ll wear them, but if not I’m ditching them.” Henry paused to take a breath, frantically searching through his closet to find the right tie. “So, suspenders?”

_”...I’m not going, Henry.”_

Henry’s heart sank. Something in Gordon’s tone made Henry worry. “Why not? I know you weren’t exactly stoked to go but why the sudden-”

 _”I don’t want to discuss this,”_ Gordon said, growing increasingly agitated. _”I’m not going and that’s final. Wear the suspenders, don’t wear the suspenders, just…”_ Gordon’s tone became softer, _”Just go and have fun. I’ll see you at school on Monday.”_

“Gordon, wait-”

The call had already ended.

Worry sprouted in Henry’s mind. Gordon never ended phone calls so suddenly. Not unless something was wrong.

-

The clock ticked audibly from its spot on the wall, the only indication of movement happening in the room. Gordon sat on the edge of his bed, his body almost completely still. He thought about the conversations he had had in the past few hours: one with Scot and one with Henry. His brow twitched in annoyance upon recalling what Scot had said. His voice echoed in Gordon’s mind, scolding him for his decision. Gordon snorted. Maybe if Scot hadn’t said anything he might have changed his mind about not going, but if he caved in now Scot would think he had won, and he’d never stop sticking his nose into Gordon’s business thinking he could make a difference, or worse, he might get the impression that Gordon needed Scot’s annoying and unnecessary guidance.

Gordon nearly laughed out loud at the thought.

_Plink!_

Gordon lifted his head and looked towards the source of the sound.

_Plink!_

Puzzled, Gordon stared at the window. It was dark outside so he couldn’t see much, but he swore the sound was coming from-

_Plink, plink! Plink!_

“What in the…?” Gordon stood up and pressed against the window, trying to see whatever was in the darkness making that sound. Movement caught his eye, and he looked down to see Henry picking up a handful of pebbles from outside.

With an amused chuckle, Gordon slid the window open and peered outside. “You could have just shouted for me to let down my hair.”

Startled, Henry dropped the pebbles he was holding, but he smiled when he looked up at Gordon. “What are you doing?”

“I was about to ask you the same thing,” Gordon said with an amused chuckle. Looking over to the parking lot, Gordon spotted Henry’s car parked nearby. ‘ _At least he didn’t walk all the way here…_ ’ Henry was visibly shivering, wearing only jeans and a sweater with his favorite (and frequently worn) converse. Not nearly enough for this weather.

“Maybe we can talk inside?” Henry asked, wrapping his arms around himself in an attempt to stay warm. “I now realize what a terrible idea it was to do this in October and now I can’t feel my fingers.”

“Why didn’t you just come to the front door?”

“I… don’t know.”

“You‘re dense, that’s why.”

“Probably,” Henry smiled. “Help me up?”

-

After spending nearly half an hour coaching Henry through climbing up onto the balcony railing and stepping across into the open window, then realizing that the front door was still an option but continuing anyway on account of Henry was already up on the balcony railing, Gordon finally pulled him into his room.

“Please don’t make a habit of this,” Gordon chuckled as he shut the window, sitting on the floor and leaning against the wall.

Henry laughed in agreement and sat on the edge of Gordon’s bed. “So,” he said, folding his hands in his lap, “want to tell me what’s going on with you tonight?”

“Well, I just had to lift a one hundred and fifty pound dumbass through my window, so my night is pretty interesting, I'd say.”

“First of all, it’s one hundred and ninety, so you should feel proud of yourself. Second,” Henry’s expression softened, “I’m serious. You don’t usually just hang up on me, and you never skip out on plans like this, you hate it when other people flake on plans. Either you’re a huge hypocrite, or you aren’t as dependable of a guy as I thought you were. Or, something is going on. So which is it?”

Gordon didn’t respond, instead staring straight ahead.

Sliding off of the bed and scooting over beside Gordon, Henry nudged his leg. “I’m not leaving here until I get some kind of answer. Whether you want to spill or tell me to fuck off, I just need _something_ from you.”

Gordon turned as if starting to speak, but stopped. He leaned his head back against the wall with a dull thud. “You should go to the dance, Henry.”

“So should you.”

“I don’t want to keep you from having fun. This is your last homecoming.”

“It’s your last homecoming too.”

Gordon sighed. He turned to Henry. “You really aren’t leaving, huh?”

Henry smiled. “Not unless you ask me to.”

Gordon’s eyes lingered on Henry’s for a moment before he turned away to stare straight ahead again. “I’ve recently had the very sudden and very jarring realization that one day Scot isn’t going to be in my life anymore, and it’s because I’m going to have to cut him off myself.”

Henry certainly wasn’t prepared for that. “What are you talking about?”

Gordon gave a sarcastic laugh. “I'm talking about the fact that every time I hate myself or want to just give up on everything in life, he’s the reason. Most of our interactions are just fights over how I’m fucking up my life by not doing whatever it is that he wants me to do, even if it’s something small and stupid, like going to a dance.”

“Oh…” Henry said softly.

“As long as I can remember Scot has been the one constant in my life. He raised me from the time I was five and was the only adult I ever really trusted and respected in my life. It sucks that if I want to salvage my mental health, I have to cut off the only immediate family I have left.”

Henry watched Gordon as he spoke, his heart panging with hurt the moment Gordon’s voice started to break. He placed a hand on Gordon’s knee to comfort him. “You really don’t have to.”

“Yes I do,” Gordon scoffed, though there was still pain in his eyes. “Don’t you think I’ve already tried talking to him about this? There is no talking when it comes to discussions about my life. Just yelling and guilt tripping.”

“He cares about you, Gordon. He’s just encouraging you to do what he thinks is best for you.”

Gordon’s eyes snapped to Henry’s. There was rage sparking behind his pupils. “If he really gave a shit about me then he wouldn’t keep doing things that hurt me.”

Henry waited for Gordon to elaborate, but he didn’t, so Henry didn’t pry. Gordon didn’t often reveal just how bad things were between he and his brother, but from the snippets of information Henry had collected over the years, he could guess that it wasn’t great. In all honesty, it was why he didn’t like hanging out with Gordon at his apartment. Scot was fun and nice, at least at school, but Henry knew that even the friendliest people can be the scariest.

Henry almost didn’t want to find out what Scot was like when he wasn’t playing the role of a teacher at school. Henry didn’t want to admit he was a little bit afraid of Scot, but, well… It was part of the reason Henry chose to essentially reenact a scene from an 80s teen movie at Gordon’s window instead of just going to the front door.

Henry could never tell Gordon, though. His relationship with Scot was strained enough as it is, and Henry didn’t want to add fuel to the fire. James felt the same way. He agreed with Henry long ago to keep their distance from Scot and hope that Gordon didn’t catch on when they would come up with excuses as to why they couldn’t go to his apartment.

Biting his lip in thought, Henry shifted his body to face Gordon. “I don’t really know what to say, other than… I’m sorry you’re having to deal with this.”

Gordon gave a quiet but harsh laugh. “You don’t have to say anything.”

“I want to,” Henry said sincerely. “I don’t like knowing that you’re hurting. I want to do something about it.”

Gordon’s lips twitched into a sad smile. “Really, Henry, it’s okay. Don’t say anything. Just go to the dance, I’ll be fine. Really.”

Henry once again tried to find the words to say, but when nothing came to him, he decided to do as Gordon wanted. Without a word, Henry leaned forward and pulled Gordon into a hug. Well, as close to a hug as he could, considering they were both still sitting on the floor.

“...What are you doing?”

“Not saying anything.”

Gordon wanted to object, but he was suddenly overcome with emotion to the point where the only thing he could do was wrap his arms around Henry as tears silently trailed down his cheeks.

-

Checking his phone for the third time in five minutes, James huffed impatiently. “I’m not surprised that Henry is late, but Gordon? Unbelievable.” He turned to Thomas, “You’re still waiting on your date too?”

“Yeah,” Thomas said sadly. He hoped that she would show.

Just when Thomas was going to give up hope (and log after James had given up hope for Henry and Gordon), he saw her. Or rather, he saw a flash of green making a mad dash through the gym doors. With a grin, Thomas stuck his hand in the air and waved to get her attention. His eyes followed her as she rushed over, her green dress sparkling in the dimly lit gym. Thomas’ eyes trailed down to her shoes: a pair of black converse instead of the traditional high heels many of the more girly-girls had worn (and quickly shed after they started dancing). He liked the fashion choice. Before Thomas could call out to her, he heard James’ voice behind him beat him to it.

“Emily!”

Emily grinned when she saw James. “You’re here!”

“So are you!” Thomas interjected.

Emily turned to him, “I know I’m embarrassingly late, I’m so sorry. I got stuck behind a nasty accident downtown and it took a little while for traffic to get redirected.”

Thomas turned to James. “Maybe that’s what’s keeping Henry and Gordon…”

“Well, neither of them are answering their phones,” James shrugged, “so who knows. Guess we’ll find out tomorrow.”

Thomas paled at the morbid indication. James sounded much too casual saying such things.

Not noticing Thomas’ horror, James turned his attention back to Emily. “So what brings you here? I didn’t think dances were your thing.”

Emily smiled, putting an arm around Thomas. “This guy is what brings me here. He asked me to be his date and I couldn’t say no, just look at him!” To emphasize, Emily playfully pinched Thomas’ cheek. Thomas laughed, but was slightly put off by the action.

“I didn’t think you were into younger guys,” James said with a smirk, earning a loud laugh from Emily.

Thomas cleared his throat. “How do you two know each other?”

Emily gave a wide, cheerful smile. “I’ve been assigned to tutor James. We meet once a week in the library.”

Thomas’ brow wrinkled. James only sees her once a week and he’s already closer to her than Thomas. The friendliness between the two made him suspicious, like they were more than tutoring partners.

The rest of the night he kept an eye on the two, noticing every interaction and analyzing every word. He really liked Emily, and he wasn’t about to lose her. James already had a date, anyway, why couldn’t he mind his business and stay away from Thomas’ date?

-

Almost half an hour later and Henry and Gordon were still in the same position, only moving when Henry jumped at the sound of Scot coming down the hall. Gordon had tensed too, but they both relaxed when they heard the sound of Scot’s bedroom door closing across the hall.

Henry didn’t know how much time had passed before he and Gordon separated, but he knew that part of him didn’t want the moment to end. He noticed the glassy shimmer of Gordon’s eyes but didn’t mention it; he knew how much Gordon hated being emotional in front of people, and Henry didn’t want to upset him more.

“I guess you really aren’t going to the dance, then?” Gordon said as he glanced at the clock on his nightstand, a slight rasp to his voice.

“Probably not,” Henry said with a laugh. Pulling out his phone to check the time, he saw several texts and messages from various social media apps, all from James, but one call in particular caught his eye. It was an unknown number, no name attached, and Henry realized with a jolt who it had to be: Andrew. As if on cue, his phone started to ring. Sure enough, it was the same number. Definitely Andrew. Guilt tugged at Henry’s chest.

“Aren’t you going to answer that?”

Was he? No, he wasn’t. With a sigh, Henry cast his phone aside. “Unknown number. Probably not important.”

Gordon chuckled. “I’m surprised James hasn’t tried to call and ask where the hell we are.”

“Oh he has. Several times. I’ve never been more glad I set my text tone to mute.”

Gordon laughed, before sadness crept back into his expression. “You should have gone. It’s one thing if I’m not there, but for both of us to ditch James and Thomas like we did…”

Henry hated hearing Gordon be so melancholic. It wasn’t like him. Far be it from Henry to say he would rather Gordon be his usual asshole self over this… sad person who is not Gordon sitting in front of him, but he had to admit it was an off-putting experience. “They’ll be fine, they’re big boys. Plus, they both have dates to keep them company.”

Gordon gave a laugh that was more of a short huff of breath. “How did those two manage to get dates and we didn’t? What twilight zone episode is this?”

Laughing weakly, Henry turned so his back was leaning against the wall. He really wished Gordon hadn’t brought up the subject of dates. He felt bad enough ghosting Andrew tonight, he didn’t want anyone knowing about it. This would have to be his little secret.

“You had a date too, didn’t you?”

Damn it. “Yeah…”

Gordon turned to face Henry, his eyebrows knitted in concern. “How could you just ditch your date like that, Henry? Tell me you at least told them you weren’t coming.”

“...”

“Jesus, Henry…” Gordon sighed. “That’s so inconsiderate.”

Henry suddenly stood up, straightening out his shirt. “Well, excuse me for wanting to check in on my friend to make sure he was okay. Sorry for not being _considerate_ and spending my night with a stranger and leaving you to be alone when you’re clearly-” Henry stopped himself. Gordon hated whenever anything regarding his depression was brought up, and now was certainly not the best moment to invoke that anger.

Gordon’s eyes narrowed. “No, go on, finish that sentence. I dare you.”

Henry shook his head, making his way towards the door. At this point he didn’t care if he ran into Scot. Resting one hand on the doorknob, he reached into his pocket with the other hand and pulled out a small candy bar, tossing it in Gordon’s direction. “Figured your favorite candy would make you feel better. Hopefully it’ll be better than my company.”

Gordon caught the candy, and was suddenly overcome with remorse. “Wait, Henry-”

Before Gordon could say any more, Henry was already gone.


	8. (I Think) I Know What You Did Last Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas confronts Henry about what happened on homecoming night. James has a new and... interesting experience.

Stepping off of the bus, Thomas looked around the crowd of students filing through the school doors. He was on a mission to find Henry. He had _several_ questions to ask and was eager to hear the answers. Standing on a bench to give himself a boost in height, Thomas immediately spotted Henry walking from the senior parking lot with James and Gordon. Thomas watched as Henry stopped, reaching one hand into his messenger bag to root around, then suddenly turning around and going back to the car, waving at the other two to go ahead. _’Perfect,’_ Thomas thought to himself as he weaved through the crowd.

-

“God damn phone always falling out…” Henry muttered to himself as he searched under the driver’s seat, feeling around blindly and cringing whenever he touched something unidentifiable. “I know it has to be here-”

“Need some help?”

With a startled shout, Henry jumped and turned around, letting out a relieved breath when he saw Thomas. “What are you doing here?”

Thomas strolled forward, his hands behind his back and a smirk on his face. “I just wanted to talk to you for a minute.”

Henry blinked. “How did you know I was here?”

Ignoring the question, Thomas leaned against the car and watched as Henry resumed digging around under the seat. “Last time we talked was when you assured me you were going to homecoming. So what happened?”

Sighing, Henry stood up. “I’m sorry Thomas, something just… came up.”

Thomas hummed. “What could have possibly come up to make you ditch me, James, and your date—who, by the way, managed to freak me and James both out by asking us _twice_ where you were even though we had literally never met him before. Took us a while to figure that one out, still creeped out by the fact that he knew we were your friends.”

“Oh, god… Look, I’m sorry, but something happened last minute and I had to cancel,” Henry said, turning his attention back to looking for his phone. His answer seemed to satisfy Thomas, who didn’t say anything else, instead watching in silence as Henry continued his search.

“Gordon didn’t show up either,” Thomas mused, breaking the silence. He crossed his arms and leaned against Henry’s car. “I’m not surprised though, he wasn’t too excited to be there in the first place. I kind of expected him to ditch.”

No response from Henry.

Thomas eyed Henry suspiciously. “Weird how both of you didn’t show up, huh?”

Silence.

Thomas rolled his eyes. “Oh for the love of- You don’t have to hide it from me, Henry. Just tell me you two finally hooked up. There’s no need to keep it a secret from me, I won’t tell anybody.”

“What-?! _Fuck!_ ” Henry stood up so fast that his head smacked against the car door frame. “T-that’s not true, all we did was talk, w-we didn’t- nothing happened, honest!”

Thomas quirked a brow. He might have believed Henry’s lie, had his voice not shot up an entire octave halfway through his sentence. “So you _were_ together?”

“There’s nothing going on between us, I _swear_.”

Still not buying it, Thomas sighed. “You’re telling me it was just a crazy coincidence that the two of you both missed homecoming, to _talk_.” Thomas emphasized his point by using air quotes.

“Well,” Henry squeaked, “I wouldn’t call it a coincidence…”

Thomas cocked his head, prompting Henry to explain.

Henry sighed. “I called Gordon while I was getting dressed for the dance, and he said he wasn’t going, that he didn’t feel up to it. I asked him what was wrong and when he refused to tell me I sort of… went over to his apartment and talked with him.”

Thomas’ lips twitched into a smirk. “Talked?”

“Yes,” Henry said sternly, “talked. Nothing else. He’s not into guys,” Henry forced a laugh.

This got Thomas’ attention. “He’s not? You’ve asked him?”

Henry nodded. “It’s come up in conversation before. Plus, looking at his relationship history I think it’s perfectly clear which team he plays for.”

Thomas nodded empathetically. He looked at Henry and smirked. “You wish he played for your team, don’t you?”

Henry’s eyes widened in panic for a moment, and he looked away, but not before Thomas could see the shade of bright red his face turned to. “Absolutely not, what makes you say-”

“Oh please, it’s so obvious. When we’re together you spend more time staring at him than participating in whatever conversation we’re having. You blush when your bodies touch, when he talks to you… every little thing he does makes you look like you got a nasty sunburn. Should I keep going?”

Henry shut his eyes, pressing his forehead against the top of the door frame. “Was it that obvious?”

Thomas nodded.

“Do you think anyone else has noticed?”

“How can anyone else _not_ notice?”

Henry huffed. “Well, James certainly hasn’t noticed. If he did I’d never hear the end of it.”

“No surprise there,” Thomas mumbled. “Still, I’ve only been hanging out with you guys for, what, a few months? And even I’ve noticed. You really need to work on your acting.”

Henry groaned, sinking down to his knees and resting his head on the side of the seat. Suddenly, he jerked his head up and looked at Thomas pleadingly. “Don’t tell anyone, _please_ don’t tell anyone. If Gordon finds out it’ll just make things weird between us, and I really don’t want that to happen. I’ve accepted the fact that there’s not a chance in hell we’ll ever be together, but I still want him as a friend.”

Holding up his hand Boy Scout swearing style, Thomas smiled. “You have my word. Not a soul.”

Henry sighed in relief. “Thank you.”

“So…” Thomas said after a beat, “Want me to call it?”

“It’s on silent.”

“Oh,” Thomas frowned. “I hate when that happens.”

“Tell me about it.”

-

“Thanks again for dragging me along tonight,” James said as he and Henry walked up to the front door of an old house, trudging through two feet of snow that covered the unshoveled walkway. To make up for abandoning James on homecoming night (his words, mind you), Henry agreed to let James accompany him to smoke with a friend. James had only ever smoked cigarettes and always pestered Henry about hooking him up with weed, but Henry had never felt comfortable with the idea of selling weed to his friends. However, he did owe James, so they compromised. This way, Henry wasn’t selling to James, he was hooking him up with a free sample.

“It’s my pleasure,” Henry said happily. “I’m honored to be the one to supervise you for your first time. I can’t believe you’ve never gotten high before.”

James laughed nervously. Sure, he was excited to finally try weed, but he was still nervous. His parents weren’t perfect, but they had at least drilled into his head that weed equals bad. Memories of long talks complete with disturbing pictures flooded his mind. Shaking his head to collect himself, he brushed some snow off his the bottom of his jeans as Henry rang the doorbell.

Much to James’ surprise, Thomas answered the door. ‘ _If Thomas is Henry’s weed guy, I’m calling the cops._ ’

Smiling brightly, Thomas greeted them and ushered them inside. “What brings you two here?”

Henry smiled. “We’re here to see Tim, actually.”

Thomas’ smile dropped instantly. “He’s in his room,” he droned, jabbing a thumb in the direction of a set of stairs leading downstairs to what James assumed was the basement.

“Thanks,” Henry said, “you’re always welcome to join us, you know.”

“No thanks.” Thomas wrinkled his nose and walked away before the conversation could continue further.

James chuckled as he followed Henry downstairs. The further down they got, the stronger the air began to smell of skunk and… something fruity? The smell reminded James of the times he had caught whiffs of kids vaping in the hallways at school. Before it was banned, of course.

When they reached the bottom of the stairs, James looked around in awe. He felt like Alice after plummeting into Wonderland. It was a completely different world down here. The wood panel walls were almost completely covered in fluorescent posters, illuminated by a blacklight hanging from the ceiling. A variety of lava lamps and neon wall lights decorated just about every flat surface. A selection of bongs sat beneath a poster of a psychedelic mushroom that said “eat me.”

“Well well,” a voice beside James said. Jumping in surprise, James turned to see someone sitting in a rolling desk chair decorated messily with various bumper stickers. “Look who dropped in from the world above. What brings you here, travelers?”

James was beginning to think he really was in Wonderland.

“Did you forget we were coming?” Henry asked with a laugh, plopping down on a fuzzy bean bag in the corner.

The stranger stared at Henry blankly, as if in thought. Then he gave a chuckle, taking another hit from the bong in his lap. “I guess I did.”

Henry rolled his eyes before turning to James. “This is Tim,” Henry gestured over to Tim, who gave a lazy wave. “He’s the guy who, you know, supplies me…”

“I’m his weed guy,” Tim chimed in with a lazy chuckle. He gestured widely with one hand around his room. “Take a seat, newcomer, make yourself at home. Mi casa es su casa, and all that jazz.”

James looked around and settled on a colorful rug beside the beanbag Henry was currently occupying. “The name’s James,” he said as he sat down.

Tim stood up with a groan and walked over to the table of bongs, opening a small drawer. “You’re in luck, James, Henry brought you here on a good day. I’ve just got some new stuff I think you’ll really like.”

James could feel the color drain from his face. The slightly sinister tone Tim had didn’t really make james feel very excited. He had to remind himself that this was going to be fun, to ward off the slightly terrified feeling stirring in his gut. Henry knew what he was doing and would look after him, James reassured himself.

Henry’s brow furrowed in concern. “Nothing too strong, Tim, he’s new to this.”

“Relax, man, this isn’t any crazy shit. You’ll _both_ like this.” Tim shut the drawer and turned to face them, holding what looked like a USB drive in his hand. “This baby makes it go down real smooth, better than anything else I’ve ever tried.”

Henry plucked the object from Tim’s fingers, examining it. “This… looks like a vape pen.”

Tim wiggled his eyebrows -- well, unibrow, the closer James inspected -- suggestively as he sat down on the floor beside James. “It’s better than a vape pen.”

Henry gave Tim a doubtful look.

“Just try it.”

Pressing his lips into a tight line, Henry sighed in defeat. “Oh well, bottoms up.” Pressing the pen to his lips, Henry inhaled deeply, holding his breath for a few seconds before exhaling, a wispy cloud forming in front of him and evaporating almost instantly. “Oh, wow…”

“What did I tell you?” Tim said smugly, leaning back in his chair.

James watched Henry in fascination. “What does it taste like?” he asked curiously.

Henry thought for a moment. “Like pine needles, but in a good way. It feels a little minty, too.” He held out his hand, urging James to take the pen. “Want to try it for yourself?”

James’ heart thumped in his chest. “Sure,” he said hesitantly. His eyes jumped from the pen in his hand to Henry. “So I just…”

“Put it between your lips and breathe in.”

“Okay. And I just hold it in?”

“Yes, for a few seconds. Any longer and you’ll be coughing like crazy.”

“...I don’t have to-”

Tim laughed loudly. “Are you sure you’re ready for this, ginger?”

James shot Tim an annoyed glare. “Yes, I’m ready!” He looked over to Henry, who was watching him expectantly. Taking a deep breath, he raised the pen to his lips. He willed his lungs to take a breath, but nothing happened. “Yeah, I’m not ready.”

Tim howled with laughter and Henry gave James a sympathetic look, taking the pen from his hand. “I’ve got an idea,” he said, smacking Tim on the arm to get him to quiet down, “why don’t you do it shotgun style?”

James blinked. “What the hell is that?”

“It’s where someone takes a hit and exhales into another person’s mouth. It’s not as intense, and a lot less intimidating than taking a hit straight from the source. Think you could handle that?”

Determined not to make a fool of himself again, James nodded. “Let’s do it.”

“All right, just be ready when I lean over. And remember to breathe in through your mouth, you really don’t want this stuff going up your nose,” Henry said, raising the pen to his lips once more and inhaling deeply.

James’ heart beat rapidly in his chest and panic rose in his throat. “So do we have to press our lips together or do I just open my mouth to-” James babbling stopped when Henry nodded to him, giving him a heads up. _’Oh.’_ James leaned forward, his face mere inches away from Henry’s, his lips parted expectantly. As Henry exhaled, James sucked in a slow breath, remembering Henry’s warning about not breathing in through his nose.

The sensation of James lungs being filled with vapor was foreign, but pleasantly tingly. The need to cough tickled the back of his throat, so he quickly let out his breath with a huff. No sooner had he emptied his lungs did his throat burn and itch, and James doubled over in a coughing fit, much to Tim’s amusement. James heard what he assumed to be the sound of Henry smacking Tim’s arm again, and the laughter died down.

James continued to cough for what seemed like an eternity. Once his throat felt normal again, he looked up to see Henry taking another hit with an ease that made James envious.

“When you’ve been doing this as long as I have your body adjusts,” Henry said, as though reading James’ thoughts.

A few minutes went by, and after Tim and Henry had passed the pen between the two of them a couple times James decided he wanted to try again. This time went much smoother; James still coughed quite a bit, but now that he knew what to expect it wasn’t quite as bad.

“So,” James said, leaning against the side of the bean bag, “how will I know when it kicks in?”

Henry let out a puff of vapor, attempting to make rings. “You’ll probably start to feel very relaxed. It’s different for everyone, some people get kind of paranoid, others get super giggly. As long as you don’t have too much, there won’t be that much of a change.”

James hummed in satisfaction. He was definitely feeling relaxed, more relaxed than he had felt in a while. If he closed his eyes he might drift off to sleep. He leaned his head back and stared at the ceiling, taking in the sensation, Henry and Tim’s voices muffled in the background.

Just as James felt like he might fall asleep, he was jolted by the feeling of his heart rate _skyrocketing_. James now knew what people meant when they talked about their heart feeling like it was going to burst from their chest. He bolted upright and opened his eyes in panic, and the sight he was met with filled him with more intense fear than he could ever remember feeling. It was as if his surroundings were morphing, like he was teleporting to different places each second. Even in his panicked state he knew he was fine and that it was just his mind playing tricks on him, but it just looked so _real_. He could hear someone saying his name, but he couldn’t pry his eyes away from his shifting surroundings, too afraid to look away.

Henry and Tim exchanged worried glances.

“James,” Henry said, reaching out to touch his shoulder, but retracting his hand at the last second. “James, are you feeling okay?” When James didn’t respond, he looked to Tim for help.

“Looks like he had too much,” Tim said nonchalantly.

Henry glared at Tim before kneeling down on the ground beside James, gently taking James’ hands in his own as calmly as he could. “James, I don’t know what you’re seeing, but you’re okay, I promise.”

Finally registering that Henry was speaking to him, James turned to face him. His eyes were wide with fear, but the corners of his lips were turned up into a smile as he laughed wildly. Tears started pouring from his eyes, his expression switching rapidly between elation and terror.

Tim’s amused smile fell. “Oh my god, he’s losing it.” He got up and grabbed a handful of water bottles from his mini fridge, tossing two to Henry.

Opening one of the bottles, he handed it to James. “Drink some water, you’re going to need it after all this crying.”

Not even looking over, James took the bottle and pressed it to his lips. It was cold, a sensation that shouldn’t have felt as foreign as it did.

All at once, everything James was seeing became too much, and he had to avert his eyes down to his lap, which was thankfully looking normal. Swallowing thickly, James seemed to slowly come back to his senses. “This is so wild, it’s- Everything is… I-I’m not even-...” James babbled nonsensically. Taking another swig of water, he took a deep breath, pressing a hand to his heart to feel it still beating wildly. “I-I feel like I’m, I, I swear it’s all-”

Henry put his hand on James’ arm reassuringly. “Don’t focus on what you think is happening, just try and ground yourself.”

James nodded. He could feel tears still steadily falling down his cheeks, like a running faucet. Why was he crying? He didn’t feel sad… did he? All he could feel was the looming sensation that something was horribly wrong, paired with the weirdly ecstatic excitement causing him to burst into laughter every few seconds. He was grateful to feel Henry’s hand on him, it was helping him remember where he was and who he was with. Even hearing Tim’s voice occasionally was helping.

Eventually, James calmed down enough to lift his eyes from his lap and look around. Everything was back to normal, it seemed. Looking over to Henry, he saw Henry’s expression soften, silently reassuring James that everything was okay.

-

Once James had calmed down, the trio laughed about the events that had just transpired. James knew he would feel humiliated once he was completely sober, but for now he found his experience amusing.

By the time James and Henry left it was almost dark outside, the last bit of daylight reflecting off of the snow and giving the world a surreal, sparkling glow. The two waved goodbye to Thomas, who was watching them through his bedroom window upstairs as they got into Henry’s car and drove off.

The drive was silent for a few minutes, until Henry spoke up. “I guess you’re not doing that again, huh?”

“You guessed correctly.”

Henry laughed. “Well, at least you tried it once. I’m impressed that your freak-out only lasted a couple of minutes, that’s not bad for your first time.”

James shuddered at the memory. “How was your first time?”

“Not as intense as yours,” Henry shrugged. “My friend and I just ate a bunch of McDonalds and watched Scott Pilgrim vs The World. I felt really giggly for a few hours, a little bit paranoid, and I passed out as soon as the movie was over and slept for twelve hours. Best sleep of my life.”

James gave an amused chuckle. “Doesn’t sound too different from your usual self.

Henry’s smile faltered. “Yeah…”

A thought came to James, and he cocked his head, giving Henry a curious look. “Why do you smoke so much, anyway?”

Henry’s eyes were locked on the road in front of them. He was quiet for a moment, biting his lip as he thought. “Habit, I guess.”

James hummed. “Addiction?”

“Habit,” Henry repeated, more forceful this time.

Turning to watch the houses passing by through the window, James figured it was best if the conversation ended there.


	9. Secrets, Secrets, Are No Fun...

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Thomas can't stop thinking about Emily and, much to his annoyance, James. Scot learns something interesting from Thomas. Gordon reminds Scot of his past.

Once the middle of December had arrived, excitement for the coming holidays was building inside of everyone, including the teachers. Classwork got easier, homework was lighter, and everything seemed to be slowing down in favor of winter themed crafts and decorating classrooms. Nobody was complaining.

Thomas sat at one of the lunch tables by the window, gazing out over the snow. He hoped Henry, Gordon and James would find him and sit with him, he wanted to think that they liked him enough to want to join him, even if he wasn’t at their usual table.

Stabbing at his steamed carrots, Thomas thought about James. Specifically, James and Emily. It seemed that Thomas wasn’t the only one who was fond of Emily, much to his annoyance. His lips turned into a frown as he thought about how friendly the two had been at the dance, and how Emily had treated him like she would treat a little brother. He still wasn’t over the way she had ruffled his hair. He had spent a lot of time getting it to lay right, for one thing, but mostly he hated how… juvenile it made him feel. Like a little kid. Emily saw him as a little kid. He was only a year younger than her, Thomas thought grumpily, how could she see him as a kid?

Movement beside Thomas brought him out of his thoughts. Looking up, he saw Gordon and James shoving their backpacks under the table as they sat down. Thomas smiled, “I’m glad you guys decided to join me, I thought it would be nice to look out at the snow.”

James huffed, “This table is right in the middle of nerd city.”

“Well, sorry it doesn’t please his highness, next time I’ll be sure to get your written approval before I have the nerve to sit somewhere else for a change,” Thomas snapped, causing Gordon to nearly choke with surprised laughter.

“Yikes, hostile.” James snickered, “What’s got your panties in a twist?”

Thomas’ cheeks flushed. He didn’t want to discuss the whole Emily thing, and he regretted being rude. “Nothing,” he said quietly.

James shrugged, “If you insist.”

“So,” Thomas looked around, “where’s Henry?”

“He’s sick,” Gordon said, rolling his eyes, “again. He’s always sick. I’m surprised he hasn’t flunked a grade with all of his absences.”

Thomas frowned with worry. “What kind of sick?”

“It’s just a cold,” James said, “but he’s got such a weak immune system that he gets sick like this all the time. It doesn’t help that there’s a bug going around the school. Emily had it last week-”

“I know,” Thomas said quickly. He hadn’t known, but he didn’t want to give James the satisfaction of being the only one to know.

James quirked a brow in amusement. “Good for you,” he teased.

Thomas fought the urge to smack the cocky smirk off of James’ face, and it took more energy than he would care to admit. He hated this. He wanted to be friends with James, but he was just so… Vain. Arrogant. Annoying. Full of himself- Thomas stopped himself. He could continue that list for hours if he wanted to, but he was trying not to be angry, and that list wasn’t exactly helping.

-

That afternoon, during gym, Thomas was getting the sense that Scot wasn’t in a good mood. Something seemed off with him. Maybe it was just Thomas’ imagination-

“For god’s sake, what do I have to do to get you all to stay off of your damn phones? Next person I see with their phone out gets detention for the rest of the week!” Scot shouted, startling a poor girl sitting in a corner on her phone and making her scramble onto her feet and desperately join a nearby volleyball game

Okay, so it definitely wasn’t Thomas’ imagination.

Thomas watched Scot from the corner of his eye; he stood against a wall of the gymnasium and observed the students--likely on the lookout for any phones--with a deep scowl on his face. However, there was something else in his expression, something that looked like worry.

Thomas slipped away from the kickball game he was currently playing and headed over towards Scot. He leaned against a spot on the wall a couple of feet away, pretending to take a break to catch his breath. He turned to look at Scot; yep, he was still scowling, and he didn’t seem to notice Thomas standing nearby.

After taking a minute to admire the way Scot’s face still looked handsome even when darkened with anger, Thomas cleared his throat. This got Scot’s attention, and he turned to look at Thomas, his expression softening slightly. Thomas laughed nervously, “You seem tense.” Mentally facepalming, Thomas wished he had picked better words.

To Thomas’ relief, Scot just sighed, the tension in his shoulders melting away. “I have been a little harsh on everyone today-”

“Try all week,” Thomas said, and immediately regretted.

Scot chuckled, nodding his head. “I suppose that’s fair.”

“So, what’s gotten you so worked up like this?”

“I’ve just been fighting with my brother a lot lately, it’s not exactly fun. He’s just so stubborn…”

“Tell me about it, almost every word he says to me is a thinly veiled insult,” Thomas said, hoping that telling Scot about his troubles with Gordon would give them something in common, not make him get defensive about Thomas insulting his brother. “He’s hard to be friends with, sometimes.” Okay, that was a little mean, but Thomas couldn’t help it. He wanted to connect with Scot, and if ganging up on Gordon was the way to do it, then so be it. It’s not like Gordon had been very nice to him, anyway.

Scot snorted. “I’ll bet.”

“You know,” Thomas laughed, “just a few months ago, when Gordon was telling me about you, he didn’t seem too fond of you.”

Scot quirked a brow in interest. “Oh?”

Thomas nodded, “He said your judgement wasn’t great, and that you’re a sucker for attention. He also warned me to stay away from you. You guys must have had a pretty big fight, and I guess he was just being petty.” Looking up, Thomas’ stomach dropped when he saw that instead of being amused by the story, Scot looked stricken with concern.

“Petty indeed,” Scot mumbled. He seemed to be lost in thought, arms crossed and eyebrows knitted in worry.

-

Gordon hated reading.

Correction, he hated reading as an assignment. Gordon could read an entire book cover to cover in a day if it was one he picked out himself because he was interested. Books that were picked from a list of so called “classics” because it didn’t seem quite as horrifyingly dull as the others were another story, pun not intended.

Only three chapters in and Gordon was already kicking himself for picking _Animal Farm_ , easily one of the most brain-frying books Gordon had ever read, and he gave _Twilight_ a try back when it was all the rage. Shifting around to try and find a comfortable position on the couch (totally not an excuse to pause his reading), Gordon pleaded for anything at all to distract him from his suffering.

“If you’re trying to get back at me, telling people I’m a pedophile is actually a pretty good plan. I’m impressed with how low you’re willing to strike.”

Thanking whatever deity heard his prayer, Gordon looked up from his book to see Scot standing in the doorway. Welcoming the distraction, Gordon set his book down. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

Scot barked a sharp laugh. “Oh, sure you do.”

Rolling his eyes, Gordon stood up off of the couch and crossed his arms defensively. “Please make this quick and get to the point, I have a million better things to do than indulge your love for hearing yourself talk.” He really didn’t, but he was second guessing welcoming this as a distraction.

Scot’s eyebrow twitched. “All right, since you’re giving me an attitude about it, we’ll do this the hard way. You’re going to tell me why you told your friend to stay away from me for his own safety--your words, by the way--and you’re going to tell me who else you’ve said this to so I can prepare to do some damage control when all of this snowballs into something that jeopardizes my job at that school.”

Gordon sighed, looking up to the ceiling in exasperation. “No, my words to Thomas were to stay away from you for his own _good_ , not safety-”

“Ah, so you do know what I’m talking about.”

“-and I told him it was for _your_ own good too. He…” Gordon paused, unsure if he should share what he was so tempted to say. He gave in. “He told me he has a thing for you, and I was trying to discourage him.”

Crossing his arms, Scot leaned against the door frame. “Oh, I think telling him I’m a sucker for any attention and that my judgement is ‘not great’ was plenty to get the message across.”

Not surprised that Thomas had relayed almost every word he said, Gordon shook his head. “Memo to me, never give any amount of information to Thomas ever again,” he groaned.

“This is serious,” Scot scowled. “If he told anyone else what he told me I could be in a huge mess. Which, by the way, what were you thinking, saying all those things about me? If you want to get back at me, put maple syrup in my shampoo bottle. You can’t go around lying about that kind of stuff, no matter how big of a fight we’ve had.”

Gordon’s eyebrows shot up in surprise. “Lying? Hm.”

Scot sighed and pinched the bridge of his nose. “Gordon-”

“Are we really going to just pretend that everything you did never happened? Am I supposed to just go about my life like I didn’t have to see you go through a huge legal process because of a horrific decision you made? A ‘mistake,’ as you put it?”

Scot’s head snapped up and he glared at Gordon. “Don’t,” he warned, stepping inside and shutting the door behind him.

Gordon stared at Scot defiantly. “You can pay all the money you want to remove everything from your record, but no amount of money is going to remove it from my mind. Or yours. Definitely not hers-”

“I said _don’t_ ,” Scot shouted, before lowering his voice again. “I made it very clear that we weren’t going to talk about that ever again.”

Gordon snorted. “How much are you going to pay me to keep quiet? The same as you paid her to-”

Before Gordon could finish, he cried out in surprise and pain as he was shoved against the wall, Scot’s hands gripping his shoulders so hard it shot sharp pain through his nerves. He stared at Scot in disbelief. Their arguments had never gotten physical before.

Scot stopped abruptly, realizing what he had done. He released his hold on Gordon and took a step back. Scot’s heart sank when he saw how afraid Gordon looked. “Oh my god,” Scot whispered, “Gordon, I’m…”

Without a word, Gordon quickly slipped away and went into his room, slamming the door behind him.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Short chapter is short, but it's still an update.


End file.
